Mission

Since 1997, a revolution for the world of cocoa

Domori was founded by the creative mind and passion for nature, gastronomy and cocoa of Gianluca Franzoni who, in 1993, after his studies in Economics & Business, arrived in Venezuela and, fascinated by the magic of cocoa, decided to develop a business model to reposition fine cacao.

Franzoni lived in the field for three years. He experimented with different varieties and post-harvest processing in order to preserve Venezuela’s biodiversity and prevent the extinction of a particularly extra-fine quality cacao: Criollo.

The name “Domori” was born out of love for 17th-century Venice. It means “Due Mori” in Venetian, or “Two Mori,” where “mori” refers to objects of dark color. The founder Gianluca Franzoni wanted to choose an evocative name for his project: he perceived Venice as a land of exchange, of spices and ideas, and of its Due Mori – the two bronze statues on the Clock Tower in Piazza San Marco. To Gianluca, they also represent the two dark beans from Venezuela: coffee and cacao.

Today the company is based in None, just outside Turin. Since 2006, Domori is part of the Illy SpA Group whose president is Riccardo Illy.

Domori, since its birth in 1997, has been a real revolution for the world of cacao. It was the first chocolate company to use only fine cocoa focusing on high quality. The first to produce a chocolate with criollo cacao, the rarest and prized cocoa. The first to control the entire supply chain starting from the plantations located in Central & South & America. The first to rediscover and use for chocolate an ancient and simple formula: cocoa paste and sugar and to make a 100% pure Criollo.And finally, the first chocolate maker to create a Chocolate Tasting Code for discovering the infinite nuances of cacao.

A unique, great intuition: saving the world’s most prized cacao varieties from extinction, preserving their original aromas and making them accessible to great chocolate enthusiasts all over the world.

Domori was the first chocolate manufacturer in the world to use only traditional farming methods with fine cacao plants. A courageous choice, because these are the most delicate, rare and least productive varieties. In fact, fine cacao represents just 10% of the global harvest, while Criollo, the rarest variety of all, accounts for just over 0.001%.The courage behind this choice not only allows us to produce a chocolate with a wide range of aromatic profiles, but also to respect and conserve biodiversity. Ever since we were founded, our company has fought to protect these prized cacao varieties, their natural habitat and the farmers who work there.